Railway-car brake



Feb. 6, 1923. 1,444,018

C. T. .WESTLAKE. RAILWAY CAR BRAKE. FILED JULY 25, 1919. v

Patented Feb. 6, 1923.

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CHARLES, T. WESTLAKE, or sr. LOUIS, ivirssoonnnssrenon TO COMMONWEALTH srnnr. COMPANY, or s'r. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A oonrona'rron or NEWJERSEY;

RAILWAY-GAR BRAKE.

Application filed. July 25, 1919. Serial No. 313,291,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES T. Wnsr- LAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railway-Car Brakes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the.same,-reference being had to the accompanying drawin 's, forming part of this specification.

11y invention relates generally to railway car brakes and more particularly to new and improved brake beam supporting means, the principal object ofmy invention being to provide a relatively simple and efficient rigging for suspending the brake beams and which means is efiective in bringing about a rocking action of the brake beams when the same are released, thereby causing the upper portions of the brake shoes carried by the beams to move away from the tread por tions of the wheels and counteracting the tendency of the upper portions of the shoes to tilt forwardly into contact with the wheels, which contact results in the rapid and uneven wear of said shoes.

In racticall all forms of brake Il 'lI1 now in general use, that part of the brake beam furthest from the hangers tends to sag, such action being due to the extra weight imposed upon this portion of the beam by the brake lever and associated parts,and this sagging action tends to cause the upper portions of the brake shoes to tilt forwardly toward the wheels. As a result of such conditions, the upper portions of the shoes wear more rapidly than the lower portions of said shoes, and such uneven wear materially shortens the life or period of service of the shoes and requires their early replacement.

I propose to overcome the objections just noted by providing a rigging which will be effective in utilizing the gravity of the sus pended beams to tilt or rock said beams when they are released and therebymove the upper portions of the brake shoes away from the wheels, thereby eliminating the tendency of the shoes to wear unevenly while in service.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and [illustrated in the. accompany- 111 ClITtW1I1gS, in whichfigure 1 is an elevational view of my improved rigging with thetruc-kbolster in secti'onand showing the brakes in their applied or setposition. i

Figure 2 is an elevational vlew similar to Figure 1 and showing the-rigging or sup- 7 porting means in released position.

Referringby numerals to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a practical embodiment of myinvention, 10 designates a truck bolster, 11 the wheels, 12 brake beam members, 13 the usual heads carried upon said brake beam members, and 14; the brake shoes.

nary hangers 15, the lower ends of which are pivotally connected to the heads 13 and their upper ends being pivotally connected at 16 to the bolster 10.

: Arranged in the usual manner between the 1 r 'Relatively short links are connected to the central portions of the outer ones of the members 12 of the brake beams and to the lower ends of the adjacent brake levers 18 and the ends of the tie bar 19; 4 1

Connected to the upper end of one. of the brake levers 18 is a pull rod 21 by means, of which my improved rigging. is actuated. The upper end of the opposite brake lever 18 is fulcrumed upon a pin :22 that is seated in a dead lever fulcrum 24, and the latter being'pivotally'connected at 25 to the bolster 10. i

By my improved construction,each brake i on their'fulcrumsor pivot points 16.

When the brakes are set or applied, the various parts of the rigging occupy thepositions illustrated in Figure 1 with the faces The brake beams are suspended by oridiof the shoes 14 bearing against the peripheries of the wheels, and consequently concentrio with the axes of said wheels.

When the brakes are released, the weight of the beams and the heads and shoes carried thereby, tend to cause said beams to swing toward each other away from the wheels, and in doing so, said beams will by virtue of the pivotal action between the lower ends of the levers 18 and the ends of the tie bar 19, and the pivotal action between the links 15 and brake heads, tilt or rock so that the upper portions of the shoes l4 move further away from the peripheries of the wheels than the lower portions, or into positions eccentric to the axes of the wheels, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Thus, by my improved rigging, the brake beams when released are tilted so as to move the upper portions of the bi ake shoes away from the wheels, and such action counteracts any tendency of the beamsto rock in reverse directions as a result of their weight and the weight of the sup-ported brake levers, and which reverse rocking movement would result in uneven wear upon the brake shoes.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved brake can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a brake rigging, the combination with supported brake beams, of brake levers rigidly connected to said beams, the lower portions of which levers extend below the beams, a tie 'bar to which the lower ends of the brake levers are p-ivotally connected, a pull rod connected to the upper portion of one of the brake levers, and a brake lever fulcrum to which the upper end of the other brake lever is connected.

2. In a brake rigging, the combination of two brake beams, independent hangers therefor, and connections between said beams below the point of attachment of said hangers to the beams, said connections tilting the beams in their released positions so that the upper portions of their carried brake shoes will be moved away from the wheels.

3. In a brake rigging, the combination with supported brake beams, of brake levers rigidly connected to said beams, a tie bar to which the lower ends of said levers are connected, and connections between the ends of said tie bar and the central portions of the beams.

4:. In abra-kerigging, the combination with supported beams, of brake levers rigidly connected to said beams, a tie bar connecting said levers, and connections between the ends of said tie bar and the central portions of the beams.

5. In a brake rigging, the combination with supported brake beams, of brake levers rigidly connected to said beams, a tie bar to which the lower ends of said levers are connected, connections between the ends of said tie bar and the central portions of the beams, a pull rod connected to the upper portion of one of the brake levers, and a brake lever fulcrum to which the upper portion of the other lever is connected.

6. In a brake rigging, the combination withsupported brake beams, of brake levers rigidly connected to said beams, a tie bar connecting said levers, connections between the ends of said tie bar and the central portions of the beams, a pull rod connected to the upper portion of one of the brake levers, and a brake lever fulcrum to which the up per portion of the othe-rlever is connected.

7. In a brake rigging, the combination with a pair of supported brake beams, of connections between said brake beams for causing the same to tilt and move the upper portions of the carried brake shoes away from the wheels when said beams are released, said connections including a brake lever rigidly connected to each beam, and a tie bar to the ends of which are pivotally connected the lower ends of said brake levers.

8. In a brake rigging of the class described, a pair of supported brake beams. levers rigidly connected to the struts of said beams, and a connecting member to which the lower ends of the levers are pivotally connected.

9. In a brake rigging of the class described, a pair of supported brake beams, levers rigidly connected to the struts of said beams, and a connecting member to which the levers are pivotally connected.

10. In a brake rigging of the class described, a pair of supported brake beams, levers rigidly connected to the struts of, said beams, a connecting member to which the lower ends of the levers are pivotally connected, a pull rod connected to the upper portion of one of said levers, and a fulcrum for the upper portion of the other lever.

11. In a brake rigging of the class described, a pair of supported brake beams,

levers rigidly connected to the struts of said beams, a connecting member to which the levers are pivotally, connected, a pull rod connected to the upper port-ion of one of said levers, and a fulcrum for the upper portion of the other lever;

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiiix my signature this 16th day of July, 1919.

CHARLES T. WESTLAKE. 

